CAIRO: Egyptian police prevented supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi from holding a press conference yesterday, asking journalists to leave the venue.
The press conference was called by the Islamist Anti-Coup Alliance in response to an official report on a deadly police crackdown on pro-Mursi protest camps in August. A correspondent who went to attend found police deployed outside the venue.
They took down the names of journalists in attendance and advised the scribe to leave. An activist of the Islamist group said two organisers were arrested.
Security officials confirmed the police intervention but not the arrests.
Police dispersed two Islamist protest camps in Cairo on August 14, a month after the army overthrew Mursi, killing hundreds of his supporters in clashes.
The National Council for Human Rights said in a report released on Monday that 632 people were killed in one of the protest camps, including eight policemen. It said that exchanges of fire erupted after “some armed elements suddenly opened fire” and killed an officer calling on protesters to disperse.
Yesterday’s pro-Mursi press conference was called to reply to the falsified claims made in the report, an email invitation said.
More than 1,400 people have been killed in the crackdown on Mursi’s supporters, according to Amnesty International.
Thousands more, including Mursi and most of the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood, have been detained.
Meanwhile, a new Egyptian Islamist group claimed responsibility for a spate of attacks on policemen in the Nile Delta that marked an escalation of a militant campaign following Islamist president Mohamed Mursi’s overthrow. Ansar Al Shariah, a name used by jihadist groups in other countries, had recently announced its formation in Egypt, before issuing another statement on Monday saying it targeted 28 “treasonous” security men.
More than 200 policemen and soldiers have been killed by militants based in the restive Sinai Peninsula since the army overthrew Mursi in July. Militants have spread their reach to the capital and the Nile Delta, carrying out car bomb and shooting attacks against police targets. The statement, posted on Facebook and circulated on militant Islamist forums, said the attacks in the Nile Delta over the past few months were to avenge abuses against “our sisters,” a possible reference to detained Islamist women. AFP
